Saturday, December 18, 2010

God Bless America

New York City, ca. 1956

Irving Berlin published his first song in 1907 and four years later, Alexander’s Ragtime Band became his first big hit. Over the course of his long career, he composed over 1,000 songs, such as Easter Parade, There’s No Business Like Show Business, White Christmas, and God Bless America, a paean to his beloved country. As composer Jerome Kern once remarked, “Irving Berlin has no place in American music—he is American music.” And while Berlin spent a lot of time in Hollywood, he regarded himself as a New Yorker whosefavorite haunts includedGallagher’s, Lindy’s and Sun Luck, a Chinese restaurant where he dined several times a week.1

Sun Luck was located at 143 West 49th Street, near the Radio City Music Hall and Berlin’s music company. (A sister restaurant named Sun Luck East was situated at 75 East 55th Street.) In addition to its convenience, Sun Luck offered a variety of Chinese cuisines. Owner Jack Yee worked as a chef in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou before immigrating to the United States.2 In addition to typical Chinese-American dishes like Chop Suey and Chow Mein, Sun Luck offered specialties from four regions, making it one of the first Chinese restaurants in the countryto emerge from the doldrums where theyhad languished for decades.

“The fact that New Yorkers are becoming interested in Chinese dishes other than sweet and sour spareribs is a welcome sign that their gastronomical interests are widening,” reportedfood critic Craig Claiborne in 1956. “Feeding their new curiosity concerning the less familiar aspects of Chinese cooking is an exciting restaurant, Sun Luck…This large establishment, seating almost 300 guests, lists the specialties of Canton, which are already known to many here, plus the less well-known dishes of Peiping, Chungking, and Shanghai.”3 One of the dishes that Claiborne recommended was Soo Ja Shrimp—flaky, fried shrimp prepared in the “Mandarin” style, a term then applied to any Northern, non-Cantonese dish. One specialty called O. O. Soup was touted as having been served to “the royal family,” presumably the Queen Mother who visited New York in 1954. In addition to its regular menu below, Sun Luck maintained a booklet with more than 500 dishes that were also available.

Sun Luck opened its seventhlocation near Times Square in 1969, making it the largest Chinese restaurant chain on the East Coast, if not the country.4Even though Claiborne reported that the new placecame off “surprisingly well,”the cycle of decline was soon evident.5 By the time Sun Luck ceased operations in the mid-1970s, innovative restaurants like Shun Lee Palace and Hunan were taking Chinese-American cuisine to the next level.

Berlin may have come to appreciate Chinese food while working as a singing waiter in Chinatown in 1906.Chinese immigration, much like the Jewish experience, was often marked by struggle, progress, setbacks, discrimination, assimilation, and success. Indeed, restaurateur Jack Yee and composer Irving Berlin were both success stories, each using his talent to enrich, and even define, the American cultural
experience. After all, what could be more American than inventive
Chinese food and the songs of Irving Berlin?

Notes:

1. New York Times, 23 December 2005.

2. Jack Yee previously worked as a chef at the Golden-Gate restaurant in Shanghai, the Capitol in Hong Kong, and the Diamond in Guangzhou.

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Welcome

Menus generally first appeared in the United States in the late 1830s. They came into being with the earliest hotels and restaurants, and at a time when service à la russe—the serving of dishes in courses rather than all at once—was growing in popularity. For the first time, diners were granted choice and anticipation.

Menus aid our cultural memory. They provide unwitting historical evidence—not only of what people were eating, but what they were doing and with whom they were doing it; who they were trying to be; and what they valued. Deciphering the story behind a particular menu often requires great sleuth-work. That’s what I'll be undertaking on this website.

My collection of menus illustrates American history and culture beginning from the mid-19th century. It contains bills of fare from a wide variety of venues, ranging from restaurants and hotels to private organizations, military units, steamships, and trains. From the start, the menu has been an art form. Some were beautifully crafted by printers or high-society stationers to celebrate special events. Others simply expressed the whimsy of everyday life.

Even when saved as personal souvenirs, menus were frequently discarded by subsequent generations for whom they had no special meaning. As with other types of ephemera, one aspect of their appeal lies within the notion of their improbable survival.

Viewing the Menus

Scroll over images for photo credits. Click on the picture to enlarge the image.

About Me

Collecting menus reflects my interest in history and culture, including the social and food customs of everyday life. I am a member of the Ephemera Society, Grolier Club, Library Company of Philadelphia, and Delaware Bibliophiles. You can contact me at Henry.B.Voigt [at] gmail.com